Enumerated types... what's the point?

[D. K. Smith]

In article <1990Mar23.234509.21638 at aqdata.uucp> sullivan at aqdata.uucp (Michael T. Sullivan) writes:
>I missed the beginning of this discussion so forgive me if this has
>been gone over but has anybody mentioned the assignment of clashing
>enum variables?  For instance:
>

THIS!  is exactly the reason I posted the original article titled
"...what's the point",  'cuz I thought I was really getting some 
mileage out of this *type*ing in the the language.  I put this code to 
my compiler (THINK C 3.02).... the results were expected.  It took it
without a htich.  I am new to C, however I still have an opinion.  The
"typing" going on here is an illusion at best in my compiler.  Did you
try this in your compiler?  I do understand the positions of the C-gods
when decreeing the new standard to make as few apps break as possible.
But I still don't agree with it. 

I think if this was implemented in the way that is intuitive to me it
would be a very powerful tool.  Oh well...

>typedef enum { red, green, brown, yellow } colors;
>typedef enum { huey, dewey, louie } ducks;
>
>main()
>{
>colors	a;
>ducks	b;
>
>	a = red;
>	b = huey;
>	a = 1
>	a = b;
>}
>
>produces a compiler error at "a = 1" and "a = b".  This makes sure people 
>can't make an end run around the values a given variable should have,
>which they could easily do if #define's were used for the values.

Yeah right... I wish it was so in my compiler...  :-)

>-- 
>Michael Sullivan          uunet!jarthur!aqdata!sullivan
>aQdata, Inc.              sullivan at aqdata.uucp
>San Dimas, CA             +1 714 599 9992


dk smith